Essex University torchbearers lead the way on Olympics

The University of Essex will be represented among the Olympic torchbearers by sports science undergraduate Kat Parnell and aspiring Paralympian Scott Moorhouse.

Kat, aged 21, will be carrying the torch on 5 July, having been nominated by her sister, Stephanie, because of her passion for sport. Scott, who is currently on warm-weather training with Team GB in Los Angeles, will be carrying the torch in Haringey on 25 July.

The torch reaches the University of Essex’s Colchester campus at 7.28am on Friday 6 July.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” said Kat. “I read such inspirational stories about the torchbearers that I didn’t think I would get picked.”As well as studying hard for the final year of her degree course, Kat works as a sport assistant at the University Sports Centre and, through the University’s unique work placement scheme, as an assistant sports scientist working with schoolchildren and elite athletes. She also works as a football coach in her home town and plays in midfield for Ipswich Town Woman’s Football Club.

Scott has deferred the final year of his studies to concentrate on preparing for the F42 category javelin. Currently ranked number two in the world, he was recently named as Colchester’s Male Sport Personality of the Year.5